Stalingrado társasjáték

Angol leírás

The Stalingrad-Caucasus campaign was Hitler's greatest strategic error in World War II. Facing deficient logistical support and inadequate forces for the dual task of conquering Stalingrad and the Caucasus, the Führer divided Army Group South into two groups: Army Group "A" (Marshal Wilhelm List) to conquer the Caucasus, and Army Group "B" (Marshal Fedor von Bock) to capture Stalingrad.
The conquest of the Caucasus was considered essential due to its oil wells (such as Maykop), while Stalingrad, along with the Don and Volga rivers, would provide important flank protection for the forces advancing south toward the Caucasus. However, after the start of "Operation Blue" (June 28, 1942), Hitler increasingly diverted forces to Stalingrad, the "City of Stalin," sacrificing the advance into the Caucasus in exchange for a prestige gain. On November 19, 1942,
with the Axis 6th Army held back in Stalingrad by the Soviet 62nd Army, the Red Army launched "Operation Uranus," a massive offensive that broke through the weak Romanian defenses, captured Kalach on the Don, and encircled the entire German 6th Army in Stalingrad.
A new formation, Army Group Don, was hastily organized under the command of Marshal Erich von Manstein to attempt to rescue the encircled garrison. In vain.
The end came on February 2, 1943, with the surrender of Marshal Friedrich Paulus, commander of the 6th Army. Within the Stalingrad pocket alone, twenty German divisions and two Romanian divisions were annihilated. The German Army would never recover from such a disaster.
Hitler wanted the Caucasus and Stalingrad. He lost both, and with them, the war.